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    Dell latitude d520, poor dvd quality - please help!

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by njw499, Sep 10, 2006.

  1. njw499

    njw499 Newbie

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    I have just got a dell latitiude d520, when i play a dvd it is extremely pixelated, not dvd quality at all. Pictures are fine though. I have set hardware accel to max and it is on the correct resolution of 32bit, 1024x768. Have tried installing a new dvd codec but no luck. Has anyone got any ideas?
     
    njw499, Sep 10, 2006
    #1
  2. drumfu

    drumfu super modfu

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    what player are you using?

    try other players

    (i recommend VLC player as it will play literally anything you can throw at it; and it's free)
     
    drumfu, Sep 10, 2006
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  3. njw499

    njw499 Newbie

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    using cyberlink at the moment
     
    njw499, Sep 10, 2006
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  4. njw499

    njw499 Newbie

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    tried vlc, no improvement. I just don't get it!
     
    njw499, Sep 10, 2006
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  5. drumfu

    drumfu super modfu

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    have you tried other dvds?

    is it a real dvd?
     
    drumfu, Sep 10, 2006
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  6. njw499

    njw499 Newbie

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    yes it is a real, i have another laptop where the dvd is in crystal quality
     
    njw499, Sep 10, 2006
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  7. Tokuman

    Tokuman Notebook Evangelist

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    What graphics card do you have? If it's like Intel Extreme/2, then no wonder.
     
    Tokuman, Sep 10, 2006
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  8. njw499

    njw499 Newbie

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    i don't know. Its a new laptop so surely dvd playback should be no problem
     
    njw499, Sep 10, 2006
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  9. drumfu

    drumfu super modfu

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    i'd say try uninstalling the gpu drivers and reinstalling.

    check dell's support site and see if there is an updated one.
     
    drumfu, Sep 10, 2006
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  10. vespoli

    vespoli 402 NBR Reviewer

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    Is your lappy plugged in while playing? If not, try it while running off AC power.
     
    vespoli, Sep 10, 2006
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  11. Amber

    Amber Notebook Prophet NBR Reviewer

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    Check your DVD drive settings and make sure that you are set for DMA mode and not PIO mode. Most dells that have been shipped lately, have been set to PIO which does cause some problems.

    To check this:
    Right click on my computer-->select properties-->hardware-->device manager-->IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers-->right click on secondary IDE channel-->properties-->advance settings-->select "DMA if available".
     
    Amber, Sep 10, 2006
    #11
  12. kidA

    kidA Notebook Deity NBR Reviewer

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    hey southerngirl, would it be possible to create a sticky of common problems such as the dvd playback issue? i think that would be very helpful. or people could search i guess...
     
    kidA, Sep 10, 2006
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  13. Amber

    Amber Notebook Prophet NBR Reviewer

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    Yeah, i'm trying to do something like that. Problem is a lot of users don't ready the stickies, so I don't know how much good it will do.
     
    Amber, Sep 10, 2006
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  14. Paul

    Paul Mom! Hot Pockets! NBR Reviewer

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    Well, I might want to try that on my XP install. It's enabled in Vista, and DVDs look pretty good in Vista. I thought it was just something to do with the fact that Vista includes better decoders or something since it comes with Media Center.
     
    Paul, Sep 11, 2006
    #14